Invisible Illness Awareness Week

Today marks the beginning of Invisible Illness Awareness Week.

I have multiple invisible illnesses, and unless you know me and don’t misconstrue why I’m acting the way I am. Heck even my parents misconstrue and they should know me. Or unless I’m wearing a brace or using a mobility aid most people would be none the wiser.

See you don’t have to look obviously ill to be ill. A multitude of sins can be hidden by make up and result in a “oh you look well.” Well I’m glad I “look” well. But underneath I’m not. Just because I don’t where a massive badge saying “I’m ill” every day, doesn’t mean I’m not. Just because I don’t talk about it all the time and say “I’m fine” or “I’m good, how about you.” Doesn’t mean I am in fact good.

It’s the concept of invisibility that people really don’t seem to understand.

You look fine so you must be fine. When everyone else gets sick they get sympathy but no one gives a damn as to how you must be feeling and the symptoms that you push yourself through every day. Sometimes just to to basic tasks. Other times to engage in physio, work, study or even have fun.

They see you for what you have achieved. “Oh you can’t be feeling that ill if you completed a masters, graduated from your undergraduate top of your class, worked at points throughout both and have done numerous extracurriculars.”

They don’t see that you did most of this laying in bed because sitting upright for prolonged periods is such a challenge. And that even then you pushed yourself so much because your mental health struggles to understand the concept of rest is good. And because at the end of the day you want a life. Your going to live with these conditions every day for the rest of that life. What are you supposed to do? Lay around and watch TV all day every day? At which point you’d be called lazy, work shy and many other things one does not want to be called.

The funny part is if you look closely my conditions aren’t invisible. It’s the wincing in pain, leaning against a wall, walking slowly. Losing balance, sometimes struggling to walk in a straight line. Walking into things. Dropping things. Missing my mouth. My joints hyper-extending. Slow processing speeds that can often be misconstrued as me just not listening or being rude.

Most of the time our illnesses aren’t actually all that invisible. It’s more that people aren’t actually as observant as you’d think and if they are observant they’re too quick to jump to explanations that really aren’t the case. Drunk, high, lazy, putting it on for attention, rude.

Everyone without an invisible illnesses needs to think before making assumptions about someones behaviour. And if someone asks for a seat on public transport or an accommodation to a day out or at school or work realise that they wouldn’t be asking unless they needed it, and if in a position to help, help.